Believe in Faith: The Power of Christ in You

By MARCUS JOHNSON

The fundamental objective of this book is to define the meaning of faith in the

Lord God Jesus Christ, in yourself, and in the wonderful things in store for the future. I

have always believed that God is in total control of each of our lives, and that He has a

plan for profound greatness on our behalf. You have the opportunity to achieve the

greatness for which God has in store for your life, and it is your responsibility to do

exactly that. God has loved us all unconditionally prior to the day for which we were

brought into the world. No matter where you are in your life or what you may have done,

He will always lead you in the right direction if you ask Him to. You were put on Earth

to bring about a positive impact into the lives of others. This is your purpose for being

here. To fulfill your purpose, you were given many gifts from God to do so. It is up to you

to reach out to God in prayer; and as time goes on, you will not only achieve what God

has in store, but you will ultimately become the person that He created you to be!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483621630

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 by Marcus Johnson.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2013906281

   ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-4836-2162-3

      Softcover   978-1-4836-2161-6

      Ebook   978-1-4836-2163-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 04/15/2013

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Contents

Prologue

Introduction

Chapter 1 A New Beginning

Chapter 2 Born Again

Chapter 3 Dramatic Experience

Chapter 4 My Walk With Christ

Chapter 5 A Journey In Faith

Chapter 6 Discovering You And Your Purpose

Chapter 7 Reaffirming God’s Most Sacred Institution

Chapter 8 Destiny Is Calling Your Success

Chapter 9 Scriptures And Quotes

Acknowledgements

Epilogue

Prologue

Have you ever once considered writing a book? As I travel throughout various places, people ask me what inspired me to become an author. As I have told my story to many, there have always been those who have said they could never envision themselves writing a book. I must admit that writing a book can be a long process; however, it is not as difficult as many may assume. If you pray to God and ask Him to lead you forward, you will be set on the right path to begin writing your book. I ask that you sit down and think heavily about specific things that you are passionate of to a great extent. Once you pick a topic, identify four or five or more distinct ideas about your topic. Each of the ideas that you develop will consist of a chapter in your book. For example, let us say that I want to write a book on Italian food. Your ideas (chapters) would be things such as the history of Italian food, different kinds of Italian food, different places where you could purchase it, how to prepare it for eating, and the health effects of it. You would also include an introduction (prologue), acknowledgements (people you admire), and a conclusion (epilogue). If you advance by this pattern in writing your book, it would be fairly simple and successful.

I have always found great joy in writing because it is a great opportunity for me to transfer all of God’s wisdom within me onto paper. The best part about it is knowing that the entire world can now read and take in the things that God has stored inside of me. I became an author at the young age of fifteen, which was not intended directly. I had written over a total of nine speeches during a course of three months in the beginning of 2009. It was just recent upon a developed interest in politics and world affairs. My goal was to present these speeches throughout the world in an effort to encourage everyone to come together to solve challenges for the future. In the end, those speeches would be published in what would become my first book to ever be written The Advancement of Common Humanity. Of course I would be compelled spiritually and by my parents to write and publish additional books, such as The Call of Destiny: A Liberation from Apathy, Shame, and Failure.

My underlying goal in writing this book is to define clearly how the life of each and every person can be built upon a strong spiritual foundation under God. I define what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and, more importantly, what it means to have ultimate faith in Him. It is through these principles that you will develop a sense of profound purpose and live a life of greatness. You will learn also how to be the person that God created you to be and why you must do so. All that is written in this book is based solely upon the experiences that I have had throughout my life. I am not writing this because all of the information may be correct. I am writing it because I not only care about people, but I believe in people. I believe in God’s ability to turn people’s lives around and use them as forces for good.

There are always those who either doubt or deny God’s wonderful ability to change their lives for the better. Some people believe that God works only for certain kinds of individuals or specific people, which could not be further from the truth. Each and every person has the opportunity and ability to receive as much of God as they would like. He loves us all, unconditionally, even when we fall short of His glory, which is all the time. The worst sinners of all time still have the chance to be saved and brought closer and closer to the Lord God Jesus Christ. If your life is going down the wrong path, you can get the strength from God to turn onto the right path and lead the life that He has in store for you. You have been given many wonderful things from God to live prosperous and great. He stored these gifts inside of you to perform great deeds in His name. You cannot fulfill any of these deeds without God and His strength. With His strength, you are able to do all of the things He asks of you. When you and I do that of which He asks, He rewards us with not only the ultimate desires of our hearts, but with countless blessings for which we have never asked for and imagined!

Throughout my journey, I have noticed that many of those who proclaim to have a faith in Jesus Christ tend to hold a cynical view upon certain issues, people, and the world itself. They believe that much that is negative do not have the ability to be made positive and much that is wrong in the world do not have the ability to be made right. Many of them believe in secular (spiritually wrong and ungodly) solutions to many of the problems that they face individually and on a broad scale. Many of those without Jesus Christ tend to make excuses and point the blame for much that needs to be fixed. I have developed this conclusion based on those of whom I know very well, what I hear and see in the media and popular culture, and what I see in the public. Someone who does not have Jesus Christ at the forefront of his or her life will most likely base his or her joy and peace on things that bring only temporary joy and satisfaction. Many of these things may consist of alcohol, drugs, money, material items, and the opinion’s of others. Some people also put great faith in relationships and friendships, which can be great until things begin to lead down the wrong path. As people continue to do these exact same things again and again, expecting the same result each time, their situation continues to get worse and worse until a breaking point is reached. The worst thing to do is judge an individual based on his or her circumstances and put them down when they do wrong in our eyes. Because of what I have experienced, I am able to understand where certain people are in their lives spiritually. Due to my ultimate faith in Jesus Christ, I am able to help lead others in the right direction, while taking wonderful pleasure in doing so. This is exactly my objective in writing this book.

Before developing my relationship with Jesus Christ, I would ensure my faith in temporary things. I focused more on what I thought may have been wrong with me, and I held a cynical outlook upon myself and my circumstances. After Christ came into my life, I began to learn of and know the very person I am truly. I developed a positive vision of my future and, to this day, I see absolutely nothing short of profound greatness up ahead. More importantly, I gained the strength from God to believe not only in myself, but also in others and the things they can accomplish when they reach out to God on a consistent basis. It has nothing to do with religion by any measure, but with an unwavering commitment to God that begins at the center of your heart. As you read this book, I pray and ask humbly in the name of Jesus Christ that you would consider the following questions inside of your mind:

A)   Am I enjoying my life to the fullest?

B)   What must I do to develop a deep, committed relationship with Jesus Christ and grow it overtime?

C)   Do I have my ultimate faith in the One who created me in His image or in things that bring joy and happiness that is temporary only?

D)   Do I know the person that God created me to be?

E)   Am I living up truly to God’s purpose for my life?

F)   How can I grow my faith in Him to the point where I can lead others in the right direction?

G)   How can I be the person that God wants me to be in my own life and in the lives of others?

H)   How must I realize all of God’s wonderful gifts inside of me and use them to make a positive impact upon the world?

I)   How can I take my life off of the wrong path and give my life Jesus Christ and change it forever?

I ask that you not only enjoy this book, but let it change you for the better and bring you closer to God than you ever been at any time in your life. After reading it, please be sure and pass it onto someone who needs it.

Introduction

There has never been a day in my life that I am more proud and grateful to be the person I am. I continue to look to the future with hope and confidence in all of the things I aspire to have. During the past six years, so much has taken place that truly shaped my character, my way of thinking, my sense of strength, and my ability to stay focused on the things for which make my life great. I always enjoy thinking about the days when I was much younger when life was all about cartoons, video games, and toys. I re-envision the times when I was little kid waking up in the middle of the night crying. I think sometimes also about the many days in kindergarten and first and second grades when I wanted so badly to return home with my mom. Life was fairly simple and small during these times. There was no need for mentors, or for that matter personal prayer. As I lay my head on my pillow at night reminiscing of the old days, I realize my story will serve as a great source of inspiration for so many individuals across the world.

Upon accepting Jesus Christ into my heart, mind, and soul, I was filled with a profound sense of purpose for achieve greatness for the future. There are days when tears flow down my face like a waterfall because I realize I could have been any other person in any other place at any other time. What has always led me forward was keep faith in Lord Jesus Christ, and I will always be grateful that He changed my life forever. He took a young kid with a world full of potential into a developing young man who has yet to change the world for those to come after. The story you are about to read is the journey God has placed me on, as it will lead me into the wonderful future He has in store. I ask that you put your life aside and envision yourself living the life for which you are about to read.

Chapter 1

A NEW BEGINNING

It was in January of 2006 when I was in sixth grade. During this time I was living in Chicago, Illinois at the age of twelve. I was a student at Eugene Field Elementary School in Rogers Park, a neighborhood on the north side in Chicago. Once every year at Eugene Field School there was a spelling bee. A spelling bee was held for each of the grade levels (4th-8th) and one was held for the victors from each grade level bees in a school wide spelling bee. For two consecutive years, one particular won both the grade level and school spelling bees. To each and every other person at Field School, he seemed inevitably strong and undefeatable; however, anything can be possible, and this was proven to be true. I can remember vividly the day when my sixth grade teacher, Mr. Michael Feuer, telling me in low, firm voice, I need you to win this. I found this incredibly amazing because he told it to me only and no other student. In the classroom competition to determine the two finals to compete in the sixth grade level spelling bee, I won first place and advanced to the next level. On the night before one of the most important days of my entire life, my mom asked me to skip gym class so that I could study the words in the spelling bee. While I was in the classroom studying, some of the other kids were talking about how it was my duty to defeat the current champion. Some of them tested me on the words in the bee.

When we arrived to the auditorium, I saw my mom, which boosted my confidence by one-hundred percent. I was not sure fully and passionate about this competition until I sat down in the chair on stage. It was almost at the end of the competition and only a few of us remained. When the current champion misspelled his word, some in the audience cheered so loudly that they were escorted from the auditorium by school security. It was then only the girl from my classroom and myself left on stage. After she misspelled her word, it was left for me to spell the next word correctly. After I did exactly that, I was declared the sixth grade spelling bee champion. Upon victory, I was advanced to represent the sixth grade in the school wide spelling bee. The winner of the school wide spelling bee would advance then to regional competition. As my class and I were heading to the auditorium for the school spelling bee, I can remember Mr. Feuer calling me off to the side because the former champion wanted to talk to me. He advised me to remain relaxed and take a deep breath before spelling each word. I did exactly as he advised me to do. As before, seeing my mom and dad boosted my confidence by one-hundred percent. Everyone was supporting me during the entire way there, and I realized I had a fundamental stake in pulling off a major victory.

As I was studying the words that were in the competition, I came across the word beret on the list of words. Since I had never seen the word on paper, I assumed the pronunciation of barret. If I would have sat in just one chair to my left where one of my opponents sat, I would have spelled beret as burray, thinking beret was barret. I still thank God to this very day that this did not happen. It was half through the competition and only two of us remained. My opponent misspelled her word, so it was once again up to me to steal the victory. My final word was facile. I struggled for a minute until it came to me instantly. After I spelled facile correctly, I was declared the school spelling bee champion and won a shirt and a thirty dollar gift certificate for Barnes & Noble Bookstore. I advanced to the regional level and placed 4th. I was deeply proud of myself for enduring everything I did in accomplishing what so many others have failed to do, which was defeat the two-consecutive year spelling bee champion, who seemed too inevitable to defeat. Most importantly, my family, classmates, and teachers were deeply proud of me for becoming the new school spelling bee winner and champion at Eugene Field Elementary School. After a major victory in the spelling bee, I never thought I would soon join the chess team at school. I previously joined the chess team in fifth